Now That’s a Sack Lunch!

Jn 6:1-15

I love to see the faith that young children have. It is such a great testimony to what our faith in God needs to be. As you look at our text, only a young child would even begin to think that by offering his lunch, it would take care of 5000 people. Most of us would simply eat our meal and feel bad for all those not smart enough to bring their own food.

John six is about faith and the lack of. Some are full of faith and growing, some are still struggling to grow in their faith, and some lose their faith all together. I bet you are in one of these three stages in your faith journey.

PRAYER

I. Display of Great Faith

A. Jesus tested the Apostles to see if their faith was growing

1. READ vs 6

2. He knew what he was going to do even before Andrew brought the boy to him.

3. He wanted to see How Philip and the apostles were growing in their faith.

B. There are times when Jesus may test our faith.

1. What will we with a given situation?

2. Do we trust him or is our faith still weak?

3. READ Jas 1:2-4, 1 Cor 10:13

4. Not everything that happens to us is caused by God to test us, but there may be times and situation in which He is testing your faith.

5. Just remember, he will never put you in a position that dooms you to failure.

C. the Boy

1. Andrew brings a boy with a sack lunch to Jesus.

2. I wonder what prompted him to even bring the boy knowing that small lunch wouldn’t even begin to feed all these people.

3. The one person who seems to have great faith in all of this is the boy.

a) He has a small lunch, hears Jesus and the Apostles talking about how to feed all these people and then volunteers his food.

b) He had to know that his food was just a drop in the bucket, but displayed enough faith in Jesus to offer it to him to feed everyone with.

c) Children have an innate faith.

d) They haven’t learned that adults can’t everything.

e) They aren’t cynical.

D. Lesson for us

1. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could learn to have the faith of this young boy.

2. That when we look at Christ, we just assume he can do whatever he needs to do.

3. To have a faith that radiates from us.

4. Unfortunately, not many of us are at that stage in our lives.

5. There are some, but not a lot.

6. I think those in mission fields like Gary MacDonald and the Grants are people who have a greater faith than most.

a) They go to a church that barely exists and give their lives to teaching the gospel to that community.

b) They have to live on whatever kindness churches and individuals are willing to send them.

c) They never know how much they have available to them.

d) They rarely have resources available to them that most ministers take for granted.

e) And somehow, they keep plugging away, they keep reaching out to the lost, they keep a faith in God that is unshakable.

7. That is great faith my friends.

8. yet, you don’t have to be a missionary to have great faith.

a) Some have a great faith in the fact that they support the work of the church no matter what their checkbook says, because they know God will take care of them.

b) Some have a great faith in that they are willing to invest themselves in various ministries letting God bear whatever fruit there is to bear. They just try to be his tool.

c) You can develop a great faith by meaning it and living it when you say as the song says, “Lord, make me your servant, do what you must do. Make me your servant, Lord make me like you. For you are a servant, make me one too.”

II. Growing Faith

A. The Apostles

1. in Jn 6:16ff we see the disciples struggling to Grow in their faith.

a) They failed with the food.

b) Now they have a chance to believe Jesus can walk on water if he chooses.

c) You would think that would be a no brainer step of faith, but apparently it wasn’t.

2. They had seen miracle after miracle performed by Jesus.

3. Other accounts of this story tells us how they thought Jesus was a ghost, and that they were amazed he could control the weather.

4. But I like something that John points out here.

5. vs 20 Jesus says, “don’t be afraid, it is I.” and after that they were willing to take him into the boat.

6. At least they were growing in their faith.

7. They weren’t perfect, but were growing.

B. Application to us

1. The Apostles give me hope.

2. It took them a while to develop a strong faith.

3. In the times I struggle with my faith, it is comforting to know that they constantly struggled, but continually grew.

4. It would be great if as soon as we committed our lives to Christ, we had a super faith dropped into us by the Holy Spirit and we never struggled or doubted again.

5. Maybe it happened to you, but it didn’t to me.

a) My life has been a life of slowly growing.

b) There are times when I am on the mountain and feel nothing could pull me away from Christ.

c) Then there are times in my life when I wonder if Christ really can do anything with my life.

d) As I look over my life, I can see where my faith has grown. I can see a lot less valleys and a lot more mountain tops.

e) I am slowing getting this faith thing.

6. I bet most of you have experienced the same feelings to a greater or lesser degree.

7. What we need to learn from the Apostles, is that we cannot settle for anything less than a perfect faith.

a) Jesus never said, “well, you sorta believe in me, so I guess that’s good enough.”

b) He pushed them to grow in their faith until the very moment he ascended into heaven.

c) he will probably do that with many of us as well.

III. No Faith

A. Many disciples desert him

1. From vs 25 on Jesus opens up Pandora’s Box as he talks about being fully committed to him and that he is the only way to the father.

2. He pushes those that were following him for a free meal and to see some miracles.

3. in vs 28-40 he lets them know that he sees they are only around for a free meal, and if they were going to feed off of him it was going to cost them more than most were willing to pay.

4. In vs 60 those who had no faith quit following him and returned to their homes.

B. There are far too many in the church today that have no faith.

1. Churches are filled every Sunday with people who have really deserted God, but still go to church.

2. They have rejected his teachings,

3. they have quit living the life they need to live to honor him.

4. They may still be in the building but they have deserted Jesus.

5. There may even be some like that in this very audience.

6. If you are one of them, I hope you are squirming with conviction right now, because unless you change, you will be writhing in eternal pain of Hell.

C. Jesus’ question

1. in vs 67 Jesus asks the 12 the same question he asks us today. You do not want to leave me too?

a) In a world that continually rejects God, you know he is asking that of us.

b) Just recently an Indiana judge said that it isn’t parental neglect to use drugs while pregnant because in the womb, the fetus is nothing but the mother’s flesh.

c) In our town as a new night club was given permission to sell alcohol, a stream of people got up to extol the lifestyles of the party people by first saying, “well, I’m a Christian”

d) An intern at a church I am well acquainted with, and intern from one of our Christian colleges actually argued with the that living together is just fine in God’s eyes and that you don’t need any kind of ceremony.

e) If that is the case, then Jesus would have said that the woman at the well in sychar in Jn 4 was married, but he told her she wasn’t.

2. Jesus is looking at you right now in the midst of a world deserting him and asks you the question, “will you leave me too?”

3. I pray so hard that your answer will be the same as Peter’s.

4. READ vs 68-69